Patrons brave heat at Celebration of the Arts

Published 4:28 pm, Saturday, May 19, 2012

Jim Ketcham, with Comanche Trail Woodturners, turns a bowl Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Jim Ketcham, with Comanche Trail Woodturners, turns a bowl Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Photo: Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

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Brad King, a spray paint artist, works on a piece, Youth, at Celebration of the Arts 2012.

Brad King, a spray paint artist, works on a piece, Youth, at Celebration of the Arts 2012.

Photo: Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

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Daiken Awasaka works on a pot Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Daiken Awasaka works on a pot Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Photo: Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

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Anna Adair, with Cross Country Face and Body Art, paints 4-year-old Nathan Wright's face Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Anna Adair, with Cross Country Face and Body Art, paints 4-year-old Nathan Wright's face Saturday at Celebration of the Arts.

Photo: Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

Patrons brave heat at Celebration of the Arts

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A West Texas breeze provided welcome relief for those attending Celebration of the Arts on Saturday.

"Thanks for coming out, braving the heat and celebrating the arts," said Mary Parmer, a member of the all-female Divas from San Angelo.

The four-member band entertained an appreciative audience from the outdoor stage at Wall and Main streets. After covering songs from the 1950s to the present day, Parmer said, "It's time to quit when your instruments are burning your hands."

The Divas won't be back on stage here today, but COA will continue. The more than 60 artists whose work is on display and for sale inside Midland Center will be manning their booths from noon to 5 p.m.

Mary Mundy, of Austin, is among the artists new to this year's event. Her Lunacy Designs feature handcrafted metal purses, hair clips, jewelry boxes, necklaces and mirrors. All are treated with an acrylic clear coating developed especially for copper, brass, bronze and German silver that keeps the metal from tarnishing.

"Everyone seems to have very good taste compared to an average American city," Mundy said of the people she had met. "They have sophisticated tastes and are interested in something unique and different."

This year's COA also marks the first time Cynde Roof, the "Oklahoma Artist of the Year" whose work is handled by the Joe Wade Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., has been in a show here. "The people in Midland are so art-savvy," she said of the folks she has spoken with at COA. "They are nice. They care and they are interested."

Mother and daughter sculptors, Marianne Caroselli, of Fair Oaks Ranch, and Scy Caroselli, of Denver, have been here before and plan to return.

"It's an amazing show," said Scy Caroselli. "I love it. It's a great show. It's really nice. Everyone is so friendly -- the staff and the people. It's like going to your hometown."

Eric Mort, an art glass artist from Austin, was in COA two years ago.

"I spent 20 years in IT," said Mort, who has been working in glass full time since 2005. "I decided to quit when I asked for a raise, and they told me they could replace me with two guys from India for what I was making. I decided, 'I don't want to do this anymore,' and moved to Austin."

"We have a really new and unique feature outside at Centennial Plaza during the festival," said Danny Holeva, director of the Arts Council of Midland, the nonprofit that presents COA. "Our Merchant Bazaar features people who are making creative and handmade items that are exciting to the eyes, nose and palette."

The biggest change to this year's event was holding the Saturday evening concert inside the Yucca Theater rather that outside as a street event. Performing were The Mavericks -- "O What a Thrill," "There Goes My Heart.," "What a Crying Shame," "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" and "Dance the Night Away" -- who received a Grammy for best country performance by a duo or group with vocal, won the Country Music Award for best vocal group in 1995-96 and the Academy of Country Music Award in 1994 and 1995 for best group. The members disbanded in 1999. In October 2011, they announced they were getting together for a 2012 tour. Fans were excited to have the opportunity to hear them live in Midland.

COA also includes fair foods and an Experience the Arts area designed for the young. Inside the children's tent late Saturday afternoon, Madison Longwell, 11, decided she wanted her face painted with a hermit crab. And she didn't want glitter. She was pleased with the result, calling the creation, "a pretty cute one." Her reasoning for having a hermit crab on her face was simple. "I have a hermit crab at my house," she said.

Other children were playing go fish, coloring, getting a temporary tattoo air brushed on their legs or arms or having Harlin Rhoades build one of his balloon creations.

Stella Byrom, who is 3 1/2, wanted a well-known Disney character, Ariel, saying that her friend, "little Clare," "loves Ariel." Rhoades explained that he could not recreate Ariel, but he could make her a mermaid. She seemed quite happy with the results, saying, "I have an Ariel balloon."

Despite her mother and Rhoades' universal "no" head shake, she left convinced she had what she wanted. The wise know not to argue with a happy, smiling and delighted 3 1/2 year old. So often it's better to be happy than to be right.

All the Details: Celebration of the Arts Festival

When: noon-5 p.m. today

Where: Centennial Plaza and Midland Center

Tickets: Adults $4, seniors $3, children ages 3-12, $1, and free for children under 3.

Info: Event includes art, activites, entertainment and food. The Arts Council of Midland is the nonprofit umbrella organization for the arts and the organization presenting COA. The mission of the Arts Council is "enriching lives with the arts through community -wide advocacy, education, outreach and promotion."